Uncategorized —

Feds wary of prosecuting P2P users

Despite an increased focus on IP theft, law enforcement officials have been …

In an interesting twist in the protracted struggle between elements of the entertainment industry and their customers, the latest issue appears to relate not to technology or law but public relations. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that, despite increased pressure from industry groups and a new law, federal attorneys have been slow to act against individuals using P2P networks like Kazaa. Unsurprisingly, entertainment industry leaders think it would be a great idea to use laws like the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act more aggressively.

"Knowing that the government of the United States has this tool available is so powerful," said Dan Glickman, chief executive of the Motion Picture Assn. of America. "It is an extremely meaningful step and we hope they use that authority. We hope this will not be some illusion on the books."

Nothing sends a message like the sight of FBI agents in jackets with big yellow letters yanking some 15 year-old punk from his suburban womb for a perp walk.

But this is not to say that authorities have been recalcitrant in enforcing copyright laws regarding music and movies to date. In 2003, then Attorney General John Ashcroft, a famous singer and songwriter himself, formed a task force specifically to deal with the issue. His questionable motivation was based upon the as yet-unproven notion that the entertainment industry will wither and die because of evil pirates. Today the Justice Department has 18 specialized units, largely focused on those illegally distributing copyrighted material, and about as effective as their counterparts in the drug war.

One wonders if the tide is turning at last, though it's not the end to copyright infringement or smoking cannabis that is the likely outcome of law enforcement efforts. Orin Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University, states a simple truth. "The gap here is [that] it's socially acceptable to download files, but it can also be a crime," Kerr said. However, as the number of people who commit a socially acceptable crime grows the impetus to enforce the law decreases, then efforts to decriminalize, or at least pragmatically address the issue, increase. The only question is how extreme the laws punishing an act can be made by a powerful minority before the majority decides the issue for good.